A Single Story
by eri-loves-nozomi
Summary: Once again, these will be short ficlets set in one of my AUs. This time, its the parallel worlds AU. See my blog for backstory. The primary focus is NozoEri, and any attempt to explain the plot will make it seem too much like a parody, so I won't. The main storyline now has continuity! Be sure to pay close attention to the chapter title.
1. The Beginning of Everything: Part 1

The time to mission start was fast approaching and Ayase Eri was absolutely certain that she wasn't ready for this. She paced around her quarters, checking and double checking that she had everything that she needed packed into the carry cubes, re-reading the limited information that the command center had been able to provide, and essentially freaking out, because finally, for the first time ever, she was going to be meeting Toujou Nozomi. Not just meeting her, but living with her, smiling at her, eating with her, and just being with her.

For Eri, it wasn't just a dream come true, it was also a nightmare. What was she supposed to do if Nozomi wanted to do intimate things like kissing and hand-holding? Eri has never done any of those things with anyone in her whole life (she's dreamed of doing them with Nozomi her whole life), so she is certain that if Nozomi wanted to do them, she would definitely give herself away as an imposter.

There wasn't much hope that she would get away with not doing those sorts of things with Nozomi, however. According the information provided about the current situation on the crisis world, Nozomi and the other version of herself that she was replacing had a long history together, had mutual friends, lived together even though they were attending separate colleges, and even shared the same bed. All signs pointed to a long-term committed relationship. The command center was even certain that this relationship was the reason that the 'Ayase Eri' of that world had been abducted.

"I am so screwed." Eri checked over everything one last time to be certain that she had everything to set up properly. The plan was to have Honoka distract Nozomi while she and Tsubasa replaced all of the affected items in Nozomi's apartment with items that Eri had collected from other worlds. There were her clothes of course (she had no intention of wearing the ones that belonged to her other self), her favorite shampoo and conditioner, various books and supplies, and a collection of pictures that actually included her. It was assumed that all of the ones currently in Nozomi's apartment would have had the essence of 'Ayase Eri' removed when the organization behind the disappearances made her existence vanish.

Once everything had been replaced and the apartment made to look as if Eri had always been there, she would message Honoka that they were done and then Honoka would execute her part of the plan. Eri thought that injecting the poor girl with some sort of hallucinogenic drug would just make things worse, but she had been assured by the medical staff that there wouldn't be any harmful effects, and that it would help to convince Nozomi that the time that Eri had been gone was nothing more than a bad dream. She hoped that Honoka didn't screw up that part and cause Nozomi to be injured. She wasn't going to be able to rest easy for a long time at this rate; there were just way too many things that could go wrong with this plan.

"Hey, you ready? It's time to get this party started!" Tsubasa's referral to this whole thing as a party wasn't easing her nerves. Eri didn't feel ready at all.

* * *

The first thing that Nozomi became aware of was the fact that she was in bed. That wasn't weird in and of itself, but she could have sworn that she wasn't even at home before this. However, her awareness of her own reality hadn't been the best recently, and even consulting the cards, a practice that had once brought her clarity, had only left her more confused. As she thought this, a familiar depression hit her as once again she realized that her beloved Erichi is gone, and may even have never existed.

"Nozomi?" Nozomi could have sworn that her heart stopped beating for a moment when she heard that beautiful voice and looked up to see Eri leaning against the bedroom doorframe, a soft smile on her lips. "Good afternoon, sleepyhead. Would you like some hot chocolate? I just made some for me, but I can get another cup if you want this one." The hot chocolate was in one of her favorite cups, one of a set that she had bought together with Eri during a shopping trip last spring. She had been certain that particular cup was at Eri's parent's house, along with most of Eri's other things.

Tears started to fill her eyes as Nozomi's heart started to beat faster and faster. Was she hallucinating again? There was no way that her precious Erichi was right here before her eyes. She told herself that, but the Eri-hallucination didn't seem to agree with her. She watched through watery eyes as Eri, with a worried frown, placed the cup on the dresser near the door and uncertainly approached the bed, as if she was afraid that Nozomi was the one that will disappear at any moment.

"What's wrong Nozomi? You're crying…" And Eri reached up with one hand and gently wiped the tears away from Nozomi's eyes. Nozomi couldn't remember a more wonderful feeling than Eri's warm hand on her face and she threw her arms around Eri and held her close, afraid that Eri, so very real now, would vanish again if she were to loosen her hold for even a moment.

Nozomi rested her head on Eri's shoulder and closed her eyes. She could feel Eri's arms come up to hold her too, and even though she was completely confused about how any of this could be real, she prayed to everything she believed in that everything that had happened up to now was the dream, and not the other way around. "Can we stay like this for awhile? Just for a bit, okay?" She asked it nervously, but Eri's soft "Sure" and the following kiss on her forehead reassured her that she wasn't about to be harshly rejected by this apparition.

Now comfortably secure, and reasonably certain that her Erichi-hallucination wasn't going anywhere, Nozomi did her best to piece together what was going on in her own mind. What was she doing right before she woke up in bed? The answer was simple enough. She was at a café, talking with Honoka about something or other. What was Honoka talking to her about? A double date. That was it. Honoka was talking to her about the two of them going on a double date with Erichi and Tsubasa. But that meant that Honoka knew that Erichi existed, and that wasn't right. No one knew that Erichi existed except her. But if Honoka knows, then that means that Erichi exists.

Nozomi groaned softly as her head started to pound. The sudden pain eased a bit when she felt Eri gently run her fingers through her hair and whisper softly in her ear. "I'm okay Erichi. I just seem to have a bad migraine. That's all." She felt, rather than heard, Eri hum in acknowledgement, and then she was pulled down deeper into the bed as Eri shifted so that they were both lying down. "How about we take an afternoon nap then? Maybe your headache will be gone later if you get a bit more rest." Nozomi didn't have even the willingness to object to that idea. If she was allowed to stay like this for even a moment longer, she was going to take it. It was the very first time she could remember that she had been able to fall asleep in the arms of her beloved. She only hoped that Eri would still be there when she woke up, and if she was, she would consult her cards again, because she was certain that now that her Erichi was back, the spiritual power that had eluded her would work for her once again, and make everything clear.


	2. Mission Brief

A/N: Becauseof the confusion caused by the initial chapter not having enough backstory, this and the next chapter will be an explanation of sorts, in the form of short ficlets. XD These two aren't strictly Love Live, so be prepared for an expanded universe that is esssentially a massively multi-fandom crossover. The only three characters from Love Live that are currently assigned to the agency are Ayase Eri, Kousaka Honoka, and Kira Tsubasa.

* * *

**On a particular world, one of many thousands, people are vanishing. Not just their presence, but their entire existence has been all but erased. Only a select few 'spiritually gifted' people remember they existed at all.**

"The command center has determined this to be a plot by an as of yet unknown organization, designed to harness the spiritual energy of these individuals by driving them insane. It is believed that their ultimate goal may be the destruction of multiple parallel worlds using this power. So we have been authorized to do everything in our power to stop it. What that means is that everyone in this room right now will be going undercover to fill in for their vanished 'other selves' in order to delay the psychological effects on the targets and attempt to uncover anything about the ones behind this."

The entire room was silent as they took in the commander's words. Everyone had known that this was an unusual meeting. There were people here who weren't field agents at all, kids, support workers, human keys (and the agents who needed them), and even some agents who were on mission restriction. And according to the mission briefing, they would all have to go into a potentially dangerous situation, for the good of multiple worlds.

Approximately three seconds after the commander finished speaking, the entire room exploded in a loud and confused jumble of shouts, whispered conversations, table banging, and several random objects/long range spiritual attacks aiming at the commander's face.

After dodging the majority of the attacks (barring one particularly sharp kunai that had grazed her cheek) and convincing her girlfriend/human key to release the offender from her chain-extended naginata ("Please refrain from attacking my beloved Natsuki again, if you value your life at all)", the commander addressed some of the questions that she could actually hear.

"No, I wouldn't call it bait, but yes, there is a chance that the agents sent on this mission could also disappear.

Yes, they will have to 'play the part', but the question of how far they can go without it being considered cheating is between you and your partner. And yes, that does mean that you might have to pretend to be in love with someone you can't stand. Just deal with it.

Yes, we are lifting the restrictions on agents that wouldn't normally be allowed to go due to the complications caused by not having a key here at the base. It can't be helped this time. There is an extremely high chance that some of you will be coming into very close contact with a version of your key for a very long time, and due to the nature of this mission, you probably won't be able to bring them back with you. We will be standing up an advanced psychological ward do deal with the after-effects caused by this…it is the best we can do at this point…If I thought we had any chance of doing this without you, I wouldn't send you at all…

That being said, the following agents need to stay after this briefing for additional mental conditioning and psych evaluation:

Ayase Eri

…

…..

…..

"

* * *

And here is the headcanon for the main parallel worlds storyline, from Nozomi's side, before the start of the mission:

On that particular world, Nozomi and Eri are 'Best Friends'. Nozomi is secretly in love with Eri, but Eri has been pulling away ever since they started college.

Eri and Nozomi share a small apartment with only one bedroom, but Eri rarely spent the night there, preferring to stay out with other friends or sleeping at her parent's house. Their relationship was already deteriorating before the crisis event occurred.

When the mysterious organization started targeting spiritually enhanced people, they erased Eri's existence because she was still the one Nozomi loved the most.

Waking up one day to find her best friend not just distancing herself, but completely vanished from everyone's memories left Nozomi a little unhinged. She began to believe that everything she had experienced during high-school all the way up to that point was a fabrication she made up to not feel so alone.


	3. An Informational Pamphlet on Key Types

A/N: Keys are an object, place, animal, or person that is necessary for an agent to have around, in order to maintain a healthy level of sanity and personal awareness as they go on missions to many different parallel worlds. Losing or breaking one's key can result in a significant mental breakdown.

Honoka: "So I just have to read this, right?"

Eri: "Yep. The computer system updates the rule and infraction information automatically, so check back occasionally to keep up to date on what's going on around base."

Tsubasa: "Let me know when you are done, and I'll show you around a bit." *wink*

Honoka: "OK! Now then, I just press this, and…"

* * *

**An Informational Pamphlet on Key Types:**

Objects-

Large objects, such as TVs (30 inches or larger), automobiles, and landmarks must remain in your room or specified location at all times. Automobiles can only be taken on missions with prior permission from the command center.

Please note that a landmark only falls under the large object category if it has been legally moved onto the base by the command center. You are not allowed to steal landmarks, so please return the pickaxe and shovel to the agricultural department.

Medium objects, such as weapons, clothing items, and the limited edition, 'Enforcer Fate T.H.' body pillow can be carried around at your own discretion, however, be conscientious of space limitations and the discomfort of your fellow agents.

Making out or 'play-dating' with your object type key is prohibited at all times in common areas regardless of who might see you.

N.T…Any further infractions will result in the removal of your key to safe custody for up to a week…so knock it off.

Small objects, such as keychains, refrigerator magnets, and beloved pokemon cards are easily transportable, however they are also easily dropped, lost, stolen, crushed, swallowed, melted, or sacrificed to the living god. Please take extra precaution when carrying them around with you.

It is recommended that you do not use your key in your deck if you are in the habit of challenging other agents to card battles.

Places-

You are not allowed to visit outer worlds without permission

You are not allowed to visit inner worlds without permission

You are not allowed to visit destruction worlds without permission

You are not allowed to remove landmarks without permission

Living Beings-

Animals must be kept in your living quarters. Follow all the applicable rules for pet maintenance.

Y.Y…Please attempt to keep your key from eating any of the other animals.

Only one animal type key is authorized per person.

S…Please return all the other cats to their original homes immediately.

Small potted plants and trees are considered to be medium-sized objects. Large planted trees will be placed immediately outside the place of residence.

If you have to move residences, please contact the agricultural department. Do not attempt to replant your key yourself.

The Agricultural department supply shed is under twenty-four hour surveillance until further notice.

Human type keys are only authorized to work in the command center. **There will be no fraternizing during work hours. **

Special-

Do not steal other people's food.

**End Log**


	4. The Beginning of Everything: Part 2

Eri was sitting at the writing desk in the apartment she shared with Nozomi, working on the massive backlog of homework for the college classes she was supposed to be attending, when the first reports from the other field agents were forwarded to her wrist device. All agents had an advanced technological communication and scanning device worn on their arm, for the purpose of communicating with their coordinators in the command center during missions. When the device was not actively in use, it appeared to be nothing more than a decorative bracelet.

It had only been one day since all agents had been successfully placed, so the mission to protect the spiritually gifted targets and investigate the criminals behind the disappearances had begun that morning. Eri had already sent in her own status report before starting on the homework, even though nothing of interest had happened to her at all, besides all of the hours she had gotten to spend cuddling with Nozomi the previous evening. Nozomi had needed lots of reassurance that she wasn't going to vanish on her, and had even refused to allow Eri to leave her side even once during the night. She hadn't bothered to mention that part in her report.

Eri calmly stretched her back and arms before leaning back and activating the interface on her wrist com. She wasn't worried about someone seeing since she was home alone. After spending almost an hour calming Nozomi's fears about leaving her alone that morning, she had finally convinced the other girl to go to her classes. Nozomi wouldn't be returning from her college until mid afternoon and it was barely 11, so she had a bit of time to herself to go over what information had been collected so far.

Reports from sections 43 through 234 showed nothing significant. There were already some isolated incidents involving some agents not staying being able to stay in character, their personal histories being too different from the person that they were replacing. The main file included a small note about agents with location keys not spending all of their time in places they weren't supposed to be.

For the most part, there really wasn't any new or important information to be had from any of the initial status updates, but Eri felt that she had to at least skim through them. If she failed to realize the significance of even the slightest detail and that failure brought harm to Nozomi, she would never forgive herself. She was just about to file the data into her device's internal archive for a more in-depth reading later, when something about the last report caught her eye.

'Section 22: Discovered more of those reddish crystals our team cleared from Target's apartment during phase 1. Location of discovery- Target's favorite café. Partner cleaned up the scene. Will keep an eye out in other locations. Partner claims that she had feelings of being watched during clean-up and that the shadows outside the storefront seemed to move and stretch unnaturally. We are unable to validate. Sending the crystals for testing.'

The reddish crystals were familiar to every agent on duty, because they were found in the homes of all the targets, as well as in the homes of a few of the missing catalysts. That the crystals might also be in other locations frequented by the targets was a possibility that Eri had already considered. She hadn't had the opportunity to check many other places that Nozomi normally went, and doing it herself would just draw unwanted attention. As much as she wanted to be involved in making sure all the crystals were gone, she would have to let her partner, Honoka, handle it this time.

It wasn't the part about the crystals that had Eri carefully rereading the entire data stream that came from Section 22. It was the line about the moving shadows that bothered her. Not very many people knew about it, but Ayase Eri, one of the best young field agents of the current generation, was terrified of dark places. Only three people knew her secret, and of them only the commander was aware of the full details behind the traumatic event that had caused it.

"Shadows…" Eri shivered a little as a cold chill went down her spine. Her dreams were haunted by shadows that moved and twisted with hostile intent. She convulsively scanned the room, looking intently at the dark corners, but nothing moved or seemed out of place. She let out the breath that she had started to hold unconsciously and forced her body to relax. 'There aren't any enemies here…and there's plenty of light…I need to calm down before Nozomi comes home and finds me freaking out over nothing.'

* * *

"Got it. I'll look into it and report back if I find anything." Honoka, special inter-dimensional agent extraordinaire, straitened up and saluted, even though the person on the other end couldn't actually see her. She felt that it was necessary to observe the protocols of being a super spy at all times, in order to get into her mission. Ever since being rescued from the destruction of her world by Eri and Tsubasa, Honoka had felt like her life was a never ending spy game. The loss of her original friends was a pain that still lingered in her heart, but being in a team with Eri and especially Tsubasa took the edge off of that sorrow.

"_Be extra careful that you don't run into this world's Kousaka Honoka while you are looking, Cupcake." _Tsubasa, the command center coordinator for their team, had just given Honoka a mission to investigate a list of locations that Toujou Nozomi visited regularly, to look for and secure any 'blood crystals' that might be lying around. Blood crystal wasn't the official name of the mysterious crystals yet, but Honoka was hoping that her chosen name for them would be the one to win the naming pool. That would be so cool.

"_After you finish, maybe we could go somewhere nice and…geh!" _Honoka quickly held her wrist away from her ear, the all too familiar sound of Tsubasa getting loudly scolded by the commander coming through loud and clear. _"…save your flirting for your free-time."_

"Ahaha…I'm going to get started on my assignment now. I'll check in again in a few hours."

* * *

Yazawa Nico was getting fed up with all of her friends acting like they'd been replaced by pod people lately. Rin and Hanayo recently had been asking about someone who was supposedly living with Nozomi, when she knew that Nozomi had always lived alone. Kotori sent them nine accessories that she had made in her fashion design class, when they really only needed eight. Umi was having trouble remembering certain events they had all experienced together recently. Honoka was acting completely bi-polar. Even Maki, who Nico hated to admit, was the most level-headed person she knew, seemed to be really bothered, often stopping in the middle of the conversation to think deeply, with an adorably confused look in her face.

"Hey, Nozomi! Wait up, I want to ask you something." There was definitely something going on and she wouldn't be everyone's idol, Nico-Nii, if she couldn't get to the bottom of it.


End file.
